The Carolina Panthers had all the pieces in place to have a really good showing on defense. All the newcomers were active in Week 1 of the preseason, and they weren't missing very many players at all. The Cleveland Browns were using a lot of their backups, including QB4 Shedeur Sanders, with very few first-team reps all throughout camp.
It was a recipe for success for a defense that was abysmal last year. While the first-team unit didn't get scored on in limited action, it was against backups who eventually put on a show against the Panthers' backups. Shedeur Sanders was the standout, and now he's getting even more praise for what he did to Carolina.
Out of all the rookies that played in Week 1 of the preseason, the Carolina Panthers had none make Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski's top 10. Two Cleveland Browns did, including Shedeur Sanders, Sobleski's number one rookie of the week.
Sanders threw two touchdowns, had a nice completion percentage, and recorded a bit under 150 yards in his time on the field. It was a surprisingly good outing, one that few expected.
"Shedeur Sanders took full advantage of an opportunity to start Friday against the Carolina Panthers, with Flacco not playing and injuries keeping out Kenny Pickett and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel," Sobleski noted.
The analyst was impressed with how Sanders navigated the pocket, had good movement skills, and displayed impressive accuracy, especially on his two touchdown passes.
Here's why this is good for Cleveland, though. "The Browns have no clear plan at quarterback. Sanders was viewed as a much better talent than his fifth-round draft status indicates," Sobleski said.
Because Sanders represents a brighter future than anyone else on the roster and because he actually played very well against an admittedly awful Panthers defense, he got the top rank. Still, it's difficult to know whether this was Sanders being special or just more of the same from the Panthers defense.
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